Obama's day: A foreign policy address

May 28, 2014
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President Obama / Carolyn Kaster, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

President Obama spends Tuesday defending his foreign policy and outlining his vision of an American role in the world beyond the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The president will deliver his foreign policy address during commencement ceremonies at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

The speech comes a day after Obama announced a final drawdown plan for Afghanistan after U.S. combat operations end later this year.

Obama said a residual force of some 9,800 troops will be in Afghanistan next year to help train Afghan security forces and participate in counterterrorism missions. Less than 1,000 U.S. troops will be in Afghanistan by the end of 2016 as part of a normal embassy presence.

In announcing the plan Tuesday, Obama said it's time to "turn the page" after more than a decade dominated by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This new chapter in American foreign policy will allow us to redirect some of the resources saved by ending these wars to respond more nimbly to the changing threat of terrorism, while addressing a broader set of priorities around the globe," Obama said.

Republicans and other critics have accused Obama of weakness and indecision, encouraging aggressive behavior by Russia, Syria, Iran and China, among others.

In previewing his foreign policy speech, Obama said he will "discuss how Afghanistan fits into our broader strategy going forward."

Said Obama: "I'm confident that if we carry out this approach, we can not only responsibly end our war in Afghanistan and achieve the objectives that took us to war in the first place, we'll also be able to begin a new chapter in the story of American leadership around the world."

The president has described his foreign policy approach as efforts to build international alliances while avoiding unilateral overreach, as he said happened with the Iraq War.

Other potential topics of Tuesday's speech include the conflict in Syria, Iran's nuclear program, the Middle East peace process, and Russia's incursion into Ukraine.